


Instructions Unclear, Kissed The AI

by gusherbug



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Fluff without Plot, Gen, Have you ever wondered. MAN. when can I kiss coomer, Other, Reader gets Patched Up, Reader-Insert, Well - Freeform, gender neutral reader, so have i, so here you go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24957238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gusherbug/pseuds/gusherbug
Summary: Reader insert joins the Science Team! And then they eat shit and have to get patched up.
Relationships: Dr. Coomer/Reader
Comments: 14
Kudos: 118





	Instructions Unclear, Kissed The AI

As far as you can tell, this is what’s going on:

_ Blahblahblah _ , Resonance Cascade,  _ blahblahblah _ , everyone’s dead,  _ blahblahblah _ , following Gordon Freeman and company out of Black Mesa,  _ blahblahblah _ , Benrey shoots everyone in the head, and now you’re a member of the most incompetent, last minute cobbled together Science Team you’ve ever seen.

Well.

Not that you mind. This is the most entertaining Black Mesa has been in a good, long time.

Everyone is making their way through another large test area, following their usual formula. Gordon is yelling, Tommy has fallen behind a bit, Benrey has vanished...

And you’ve ended up trying to run ahead, accompanied by Dr. Coomer.

You almost don’t hear the exclamation at first.

“Look (Y/N), ropes! We can use these to-!”

By the time you’ve processed what Dr Coomer was saying, you’ve also begun to process the sensation of propelling upwards in the air. The creature’s tendril is wrapped securely around you, and the delayed realization that _ , oh hey, I’m gonna fucking die probably,  _ doesn’t give you time to react.

“We can use these to-? To what, we can-OH.” As Gordon turns, he realizes it was more of a reaction than it was a statement.

Frantic gunshots sound. Gordon is trying his best to hit the creature and not you.

Looking down, you watch as four things happen in rapid succession.

Dr. Coomer snatches the pistol away from Gordon.

He aims, and shoots up in your direction.

You begin falling.

And finally, you stop falling.

You’ve been caught.

“That was-Man, that was the most coherent thing you’ve done this whole fucking time!” Gordon, usually exasperated, seems far more shocked at this development than you are.

“Is (Y/N) okay?” Tommy finally catches up to everyone, gawking at you a little.

It takes a confused look from Tommy for the cogs in your head to turn.

So first of all, Dr. Coomer just saved you from a weird flesh barnacle on the ceiling.

Second, there are weird flesh barnacles on the ceiling.

And third;

Dr. Coomer is holding you in his big, strong arms.

You’re bleeding, also, but the ‘being in Coomer’s arms’ thing seemed more important in your mind. Your eyes dart down to your pretty damp leg.

Where the ‘rope’ had grabbed you, it seemed teeth had sunk into you and left quite a bad gash. You could only start feeling the pain now, adrenaline being the little bitch that it is.

“Holy shit.” You say. Whether this is in reference to being in Coomer’s arms or your very-much-bleeding leg, you’re not entirely sure.

Tommy fumbled a bit with his coat. As Dr. Coomer tries to set you down gently against the wall, you hear a click. While he moves you gently to put as little strain on your leg as possible, you look up.

Benrey is back, and he has a camera.

“this is so fucked up. can’t believe this.” He says, taking another picture of you.

“And where the FUCK were YOU?!” Gordon begins to yell through a crowbar fight with a headcrab, “We were totally-STOP TAKING PICTURES OF THEIR LEG!”

“scrapbookin’. ‘s a fun-uh, fun activity, for the whole family. all the good little girls and boys love some-it’s a real treat for all those little girls and boys.”

“STOP TALKING IN _RIDDLES!_ ”  
Tommy crouches down by you, finally pulling out a first aid kit and placing it beside you. He pauses, and looks towards Gordon.

“...Uh, didn’t we-uh… We had someone else with us.”

Benrey and Gordon pause.

“...Did-Did we fucking lose Bubby?” Gordon mumbles as his eyes dart across your group.

“nice.”

“We fucking-Where did he-Okay, who saw him last. Where did you-”

“doin’ a great job there, friend leader.”

“This could-Maybe this is a metaphor! For-for, uh, for the fan spotlight that shoves prominent characters out of-of content!” Tommy proposes.

“Tommy, you’re a sweet guy, but I think we literally just fucking lost Bubby at some point.”

Gordon sighs, “Ok-Dr. Coomer? Can you patch up their leg and, uh, Tommy, come help me look for Bubby, please? Benrey, I don’t know fucking-just don’t lick anything.”

“you think i’m a fucking gecko or something?”

“Honestly? I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Tommy and Gordon set off, and Benrey hangs around for a few moments to follow them at a distance.

Dr. Coomer digs in the provided first aid kit, setting and organizing supplies on the concrete beside the two of you. On occasion, you can see his enhanced arms flare, exposing wires and metal below.

“I must warn you, (Y/N), I may be a doctor, but I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing when it comes to medicine!” He chirps, dabbing alcohol onto a piece of cotton before placing the bottle back inside the first aid kit, and offering you his hand, “Squeeze my hand if it hurts.”

“That’s not very comforting-“ You begin to joke, before the sting of the alcohol being rubbed on your wound makes you gasp a little louder than you intended. You shoot your hand forward to grab and squeeze his hand hard. It does help, a lot more than you expected. 

He squeezes back, but not to the same degree you are. It’s more reassuring than anything. You scrunch your face and shut your eyes as your injury throbs.

The shooting pain dies off, and you soften your grip on Dr. Coomer’s hand. When you open your eyes, he’s smiling gently at you.

Feeling your face tint with warmth, you quickly turn to avoid his gaze. He keeps smiling, grabbing the gauze to begin dressing the wound. 

You feel as if you should say something. 

“Thanks for letting me not-uh, die-“

Nope.

“Not letting me die.”

Closer, but still a pretty bad reaction.

“What am I saying.”

You didn’t mean to say that one out loud.

Dr. Coomer blinks, then giggles. Is he laughing at you? With you? It’s soft and high pitched, and it makes you feel like keeling over with how  _ adorable _ it is.

“Just tell me if I’m hurting you!” His giggles fade, and he gets to work wrapping your leg up. 

He smiles the whole time, but it feels more as if he’s afraid of panicking you if he didn’t. His brows are furrowed, obviously very invested in your safety, and slightly less pressing, your comfort.

Pressing the gauze tight to stop any remaining bleeding, he very slowly wraps it, dressing it with a soft and caring precision you’re not sure you’ve seen since you began working at Black Mesa. 

You find yourself so enamored with his actions that when he pauses and asks something, you can only hear noise. You look back up with a soft ‘huh?’ noise.

“I said; are you alright? It doesn’t hurt?”

“Oh.” It does hurt a bit, actually, so you tell him so.

You actually barely finish your sentence, because it seems he was a bit eager to act on the idea he’d gotten.

Dr. Coomer plants a kiss on the gauze, with a comically exaggerated ‘MWAH’ sound. You’re not sure if he actually made that noise or if it manifested magically, in line with the absurd new scenery that Black Mesa had cultivated.

And you aren’t actually able to stop yourself from bursting out laughing. He had looked at you a bit nervously, but he’s a bit surprised, but equally happy to see your reaction. You grab his shoulder, laughing, half covering your blushing face in embarrassment.

He starts laughing too, smiling ear to ear. 

You barely both have a moment to stop laughing, and meet eyes.

Next thing you know, you’re kissing him.

“WOOOOO go grandpa!” 

You nearly collapse backwards, whipping your head around to meet Benrey’s voice behind you.

Dr. Coomer is not as startled as you are, but he is quick to grab and steady you, lest you hurt yourself further. The rest of the Team is back.

“We were gone for like-Tommy, you have a watch. How long were we gone?” Gordon rubs his temples, but doesn’t actually seem as exhausted as usual. Amused, even.

“Oh. This doesn’t tell the time! You press the-the buttons, and the rings shoot up in the water.” Tommy lifts his wrist and points at the very sleek, professional looking watch. 

“What does-What the fuck? Does Rolex make fuckin- dollar store toys now?”

“Don’t judge a man’s fidgets, Gordon.” Bubby, now reunited with your team, tsks.

“I am not _ judging _ , it looks exactly like a-”

“wowwwwww gordon.” Benrey chimes in, “he can have his ring water game if he wants.”

“That is not the issue I have with this. It SAYS Rolex right there on the fucking-HOW did you-Okay.” Gordon groans, “Over it. I’m over it. We should get going. Can (Y/N) walk?”

Before you can respond, Dr. Coomer helps you up, but doesn’t let you put weight on the injured leg. He pulls you close, letting you lean on him and keep the injury unstressed. You feel him sling an arm around you, resting his hand on your shoulder to keep you supported.

“I probably should’ve guessed you’d do that.” Gordon finally betrays a smile, “Alright, come on. We got more bullshit puzzles to do.”

Gordon and Tommy take the lead, continuing some conversation they’d begun on the way back. 

Behind them, Benrey and Bubby begin to mutter indescriptly amongst themselves.

Which left, as slow as you could get away with, you and Dr. Coomer on the tail end of the menagerie. 

You tried to look ahead, still quite embarrassed, but the moment you try to steal a glance, you realize his eyes are dead locked on you, making sure you’re okay.

As quick as you are to look back ahead, you can just catch him smiling at you again. He gives your shoulder a quick squeeze of acknowledgement.

This is the most absurd chain of events leading to and from a kiss you have experienced.

Well.

Not that you mind.

**Author's Note:**

> hey this almost killed me to write like at multiple points thanks  
> thebenrey.tumblr.com


End file.
